Why PRRR

We are a litigation boutique with a broad range of expertise and experience. We are routinely involved in Canada's highest profile cases, whether complex commercial litigation or class actions, professional discipline or labour disputes. We are trusted to manage the most sensitive legal issues facing businesses of every size, individuals, labour unions, professional regulatory bodies, academic institutions, and public interest organizations. We are devoted to excellence in advocacy in every area of our practice.

Overview

Our specialized Class Action group is experienced both in prosecuting and defending class proceedings.

The Class Action group is a team of talented lawyers and support staff, with recognized expertise in prosecuting and defending class actions, who devote a significant portion of their practices to this complicated and specialized form of litigation. Acting as class counsel on some cases, and as defence counsel on others gives the Class Action group unique strategic insight in an area where most firms typically represent only one side or the other.

Current Class Actions

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Student Program

First and foremost, we are committed to excellence in advocacy. Although a number of the lawyers at Paliare Roland concentrate their practice in specific areas of litigation, no one is required to do so. The firm's culture is rooted firmly in the belief that a good litigator is able to do virtually any type of case. Consequently, the ability to advocate on behalf of a client -- any client -- is the primary skill we look for in a lawyer.

Student Program

Independent Counsel.

Why Paliare Roland?

Our goal with students is to hire and develop superior advocates. Summer and articling students at Paliare Roland will have the opportunity to obtain experience in numerous areas of litigation, including commercial, labour, employment, administrative and appellate advocacy. This broad perspective within an advocacy framework will provide students with a unique experience. Click here to contact any of our current students to learn more.

Although a number of the lawyers at Paliare Roland concentrate their practice in specific areas of litigation, no one is required to do so. The firm's culture is rooted firmly in the belief that a good litigator is able to do virtually any type of case. Consequently, the ability to advocate on behalf of a client -- any client -- is the primary skill we look for in a lawyer. It is our intention to hire students interested in advocating for the rights of our clients, whether in the civil/commercial or labour/employment/administrative context. Students will not be placed in a rotation and will enjoy the challenge of working with most of our lawyers in a wide variety of practice areas.

We look for students who have a demonstrated interest in litigation, through mooting, clinic work and other types of persuasive advocacy, and who have achieved high academic standing. We seek out students who are intellectually-curious, resourceful and well-rounded, and who share our values of professionalism and excellence. Many of us are first-generation lawyers, and we recognize that many students will not have experience in law-related positions before law school. We find that students can develop valuable skills for summer and articling through an extremely wide range of non-legal positions, such as retail, service, skilled trade, and/or manual labour.

We are firmly committed to giving back to the legal community and our broader community. Many of us devote time to legal and non-legal charities and organizations. As a firm, we support diverse causes through our charitable donations to groups such as the Southern Poverty Law Centre, our support of initiatives like the LSO’s Statement of Principles, and through the work we do on behalf of organizations like Progress Toronto, HIV & AIDS Legal Clinic of Ontario (HALCO), the Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA), and many others.

Professional Development & Mentorship

We strive to involve our students in the practice and development of the areas of law in which we are involved. Our students will not only be expected to assist in research, drafting, and preparation of cases, but will also be encouraged to attend with lawyers at hearings, and at trials, and examinations for discovery. Students will take part in client interviews, and will be involved in drafting legal opinions and memoranda, pleadings, and facta. Students may attend at court before Masters and be given Small Claims and administrative law matters to carry. In addition to hands-on training, students are invited to participate in our in-firm continuing professional development program. With our small size and small student pool, we have students take on meaningful client work, and treat students as key members of our team.

Our students will be assigned a single mentor for the duration of the summer term or articling year. The mentor will be responsible for ensuring that their student is receiving an appropriate amount and range of work, and also for assisting their student with any problems that might arise from time to time, although students receive work directly from all of the lawyers in our firm. Students will receive feedback on their work from the assigning lawyer on a project-by-project basis. In addition, students will receive formal performance evaluations from their mentor at intervals throughout the articling year.

In addition to formal mentoring, we support peer mentoring, at all stages of practice. Our junior lawyers (most of whom were students here) and support staff are especially generous with their time and guidance for students. Moreover, our culture is one of discussion and debate: we regularly turn to our colleagues to provide experience, support, and strategic advice on cases, during lunchtime discussions and informal brainstorming sessions.

Diversity and Inclusion in the Profession

Paliare Roland is committed to diversity and to creating an inclusive workplace. Our clients are best served by lawyers who understand and reflect the diversity of the community around us. Our firm is best served by having a workplace that challenges the status quo and creates space for all.

Our firm is a really great place of employment for women. It could be our equality of numbers, our fantastic female role models, or our collection of amazing men who actually get it. Half our lawyers are women. We are proud to have created a culture where women not only stay, but thrive and succeed. Women at Paliare Roland have both presence and power at all levels of the firm and are a force to be reckoned with.

As an employer, we have implemented a diversity policy that seeks to enhance diversity and inclusion in recruitment, retention and advancement, and are conducting training sessions for all partners and associates on diversity and unconscious bias. Our office environment is casual, close-knit, and collegial and seeks to break down the barriers found in traditional legal environments.

Paliare Roland’s Diversity Committee is made up of both partners and associates, and coordinates diversity education sessions and supports the work of equity-seeking groups in the legal community.

As a firm, we recognize that there is always more work to be done. We are committed to building on our achievements and doing so with a team strengthened by diverse voices. We welcome applicants from all walks of life. In our hiring, we prioritize candidates with diverse experiences, backgrounds, and achievements. For this reason, we do not use a name-blind recruitment and selection system in student recruitment. We have adopted the partial use of standardized questioning in interviews to focus our assessment on the skills and abilities of candidates.

Our Recruitment Process

We hire 3-4 second year summer law students each November, in accordance with LSO guidelines and deadlines. We accept applications by viLawPortal to the attention Emily Lawrence, one of our partners and the Director of our Student Program.

We conduct on-campus interviews at McGill University, Osgoode Hall Law School, Queen’s University, University of Toronto, and Western University. We reserve several in-firm November interview slots for students from schools where we do not conduct OCIs. We advise selected candidates of our intention to offer November interviews about one week before Call Day. We do not hold cocktail parties during November recruitment, and rarely invite students to dinner because we prefer interviews that focus on the skills and abilities of candidates.

We hire articling students on occasion. Please see How to Apply for available summer and articling positions. We do not have positions for first year law summer students or for students prior to law school. We do not accept interns.

Salary will be competitive with other law firms in downtown Toronto. We provide a smartphone, and also offer a dental, health and life insurance plan, and a subsidized health club membership. Articling students will also receive full salary and tuition during the Bar Admission Course, and paid vacation during their articling term.